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photo by steed media service
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It’s almost become a cliché to hear someone say they are blessed.
We hear it all the time, see it on bumper stickers, etc., ‘I’m too
blessed to be stressed,’ being just one of the oft-recited homilies. A
veritable cottage industry has sprung up based on a single word, but
really, what does being blessed mean?
Based on the actions of a few people, I’d surmise that it means
conspicuous consumption, dog-eat-dog social and business interactions
and cutthroat, winner-takes-all competition. For some, the adoration
of other people is the blessing. For others, being nearly invisible
to other people is the blessing. Are blessings something to covet
and hoard? If the universe smiles on you do you have to return the
favor? I say yes.
Is there a layer of purpose beneath lucky breaks that come your
way? Is there an inherent responsibility in accepting a benefit that
one has not toiled to acquire? I hope that when we receive manna
from heaven – because that’s what a blessing is – that it’s OK to
rejoice. After all, joy is hard for mere mortals to contain. When one
has been unexpectedly lifted above a difficult circumstance, it’s
nearly impossible to stifle the overwhelming relief that pours through
the spirit. Why wouldn’t we want our fellow human beings to have
that experience too?
Some of the hardhearted among us behave as though they have a
lock on grace. They have it, you can’t have it, and don’t even think
about asking them for what they’ve already claimed as their just
deserts. How myopic. I subscribe to another oft-recited utterance,
‘you are blessed to be a blessing,’ not to be boastful, or a show-off or
proud, but to share your gifts. For when you share freely of your time,
talent and innermost self, that is when the true blessings begin to
flow. Peace.
blessedness Munson Steed, Publisher
